The Department of Justice reports that a man who operated jewelry companies in New York City has admitted to spearheading a scheme to illegally evade customs duties for more than $13.5 million of jewelry imports and illegally processing more than $10.3 million through an unlicensed money transmitting business.
According to a DOJ press release, from December 2019 through April 2022 the man shipped and/or instructed his conspirators to ship goods from Turkey or India – which would have been subject to an approximately 5.5 percent duty if shipped directly to the U.S. – to one of his companies in South Korea. Conspirators there would then change the labels on the jewelry to state that it was from Korea and ship the products to the U.S.
The man also (1) made and instructed his customers to make fake invoices and packing lists to make it look like the South Korean companies were actually ordering jewelry from Turkey or India and (2) instructed a third-party shipping company to provide false information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection concerning the origin of the jewelry.
Further, the man used jewelry companies he owned and/or operated in New York to conduct illegal financial transactions for customers, including converting cash to checks or wire transfers. He would also collect cash from customers and use other individuals’ jewelry companies to convert the cash into wires or checks. None of these companies were registered as money transmitting businesses.
The DOJ states that as part of a plea agreement the man agreed to pay $742,5000 in restitution for the wire fraud scheme and $11.13 million in forfeiture for the wire fraud and unlicensed money transmitting schemes. He also faces up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud conspiracy charge and up to five years in prison for the charge of operating and aiding and abetting the operation of an illegal money transmitting business. Each count is also punishable by a maximum fine of either $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.
Copyright © 2025 Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.; WorldTrade Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved.